Estevan Oriol/DGCBlink-182's Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker have addressed Tom DeLonge's statement that he didn't quit the band, despite reports to the contrary. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Hoppus and Barker retain that DeLonge is no longer a part of Blink-182, describing the guitarist as "disrespectful," "ungrateful," and "disingenuous."
"We booked January 5th to go into the studio. On December 30th, we get an e-mail from Tom's manager saying that he has no interest in recording and that he wants to do his other, non-musical stuff and that he's out indefinitely," Hoppus recalls. "There's a flurry of e-mails going back and forth for clarification about the recording and the show and his manager sends [an e-mail] back saying, 'Tom. Is. Out.' Direct quote. This is the exact same e-mail we got back in 2004 when Tom went on indefinite hiatus before."
"I think he's just bummed because Mark and I were finally honest. We always covered up for him before," adds Barker. "It's hard to cover for someone who's disrespectful and ungrateful."
Monday afternoon, DeLonge insisted on his Facebook page that he didn't quit the band. He wrote, "I actually was on a phone call about a blink 182 event for New York City at the time all these weird press releases started coming in... Apparently those releases were 'sanctioned' from the band. Are we dysfunctional- yes. But, Christ....." Later, a publicist for Blink-182 reportedly put out a statement in which Hoppus and Barker claimed DeLonge "didn't want to participate in any Blink-182 projects indefinitely, but would rather work on his other non-musical endeavors." A rep for DeLonge then issued a statement quoting the guitarist as saying, "The ONLY truth here is that I have commitments that limit my availability this year. I love Blink-182 and I’m not leaving."
"It's just funny to me. I think he's just in shock that he's finally been exposed," Barker says of the back-and-forth. "The truth is out."
In December, DeLonge released a new album, The Dream Walker, with his side project Angels & Airwaves. In addition to the album, DeLonge is planning to release a novel, comic books and a feature film as a part of The Dream Walker project, which could be the "non-musical endeavors" Hoppus and Barker are referring to.
As for Blink-182, the band is focused on playing the Musink Festival in Los Angeles on March 22. Alkaline Trio's Matt Skiba will fill in for DeLonge.
"Finally, people know what the deal is with our band. Beyond that, we'll see what happens," Hoppus tells Rolling Stone. "Travis and I are intent on protecting the legacy of Blink-182 and continue to do what we've been doing for the past two decades: continue playing the songs."
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